Bridge closures and your commute
Live bridge-related changes · the river-crossing playbook
Brisbane is a river city with a handful of crossings, so when one closes — Story Bridge maintenance, an event on the Victoria Bridge, an incident on the Captain Cook — the effects ripple through the bus network within minutes. Here's what's affected right now, and the crossings that never close to you.
Who owns which crossing
Victoria Bridgeis public transport's own — bus and busway only, the hinge between the city and South Bank. Story Bridge carries the eastside bus routes and its maintenance closures make the news. Merivale Bridge is rail-only — which is why trains sail through road-closure weekends untouched. And the river itself belongs to the CityCats: their status page is your plan B.
Closure-day moves
Rule of thumb: when roads close, switch modes rather than routes — the train or ferry across beats a rerouted bus in closure traffic. The journey planner already knows the reroutes, and the live disruptions board shows the full network picture on a messy day.
Bridge closure questions
Is the Story Bridge affecting buses today?+
Any current bridge-related service changes appear in the live panel above, straight from the network feed. Story Bridge maintenance closures reroute the bridge's bus services, usually via the Captain Cook Bridge with added travel time.
Which bridges matter to public transport?+
Victoria Bridge is the big one — it's bus-only and carries the busway across the river, so anything affecting it hits many routes at once. The Story Bridge carries key northside-eastside buses, the Captain Cook carries the freeway routes, and the rail network crosses on its own Merivale Bridge.
Do trains get affected by road bridge closures?+
No — trains cross the river on the rail-only Merivale Bridge, so a road bridge closure doesn't touch them. On big closure weekends, the train is usually the calmest way across the river.
How do I get across the river during a closure?+
Trains and CityCats keep crossing regardless of road closures. The journey planner reroutes bus trips live, and the ferries — covered on our CityCat status page — are the scenic plan B.
More live guides
📚 O-Week & semester-start transport →
Getting to campus when everyone else is too: the twice-yearly crush, live.
🦪 Cleveland line status →
Live closures on the bayside line to Wynnum, Manly and Cleveland.
⛰️ Caboolture & Sunshine Coast line status →
Live closures on the long northern run to Caboolture, Nambour and Gympie.
🌉 Redcliffe Peninsula line status →
Live closures on the network's newest line to Kippa-Ring and the peninsula.
Live information on this page comes from TransLink's service alerts feed and updates automatically. Plan any trip with the journey planner.